Educational device.



C. HABART.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE. APPLlcATloN man ocT. xe. 191e.

Patented Feb. 12, 1918.

Jlllr El ,1 N

momo EI` ENTTED STATES PATENT CFFTCE.

CHARLES HABART, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE.

Application filed October 16, 1916.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES HABART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Chio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Educational Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an educational device more particularly intended for use by children learning to spell, or in the practising of spelling.

The object of the invention is to produce a device for the purpose, of simple construction which may be made largely of stampings, thereby insuring a low manufacturing cost.

Generally speaking, the invention may be said to comprise the elements and combinations thereof set forth in the accompanying claims.

AReference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device with portions of the casing removed to show the interior construction; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the showing in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the device with parts within the casing indicated; Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of a legend device; and Fig. 5 is a detail showing a retaining means for holding the legend devices in any position to which they may be moved.

Referring now to the drawings, a lcomplete description of the device will be given. There is a casing which is generally represented at 1, this easing being provided with a bottom portion 2 and ends 3. It has a rounding portion 4 which forms the top, and a rounding portion 5 which forms the major portion of the front of the casing.

Within the easing and extendmg from end to end thereof, is a shaft G. This shaft is mounted at its ends in the side members 3 of the casing. Upon this shaft there are loosely mounted a series of what I term legend devices which are indicated at 7. Each legend device is preferably, although not necessarily, made of stamped metal and comprises a body portion which has a -flat rim 8, upon which are suitably mounted legends or characters such as the alphabet, these being equally spacedthroughout the periphery of the legend devlce. The central portion of the legend device 1s pressed out- Speceation of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, 1918.

Serial No. 125,776.

wardly as indicated at 9, and is adapted to recelve a toothed member 10, the toothed member being secured to the portion 9 so that when the member l0 is rotated, it will rotate the legend member about the shaft 6.

Each legend member is operated by a lever 11, which lever is pivoted adjacent the lower and rear portion of the casing as indicated at 12. Each lever extends forwardly in the casing and through a slot 13 formed in the curved portion 5 of the casing. There are a series of such slots, there being a slot for each lever 11, and there are as many levers 11 as there are legend devices.

Each lever 11 is provided with an arm 14 upon which there is formed a rack 15, this rack coperating with the pinion teeth 10 carried by the legend device.

It will be apparent that as the lever 11 is depressed, it will move the rack 14 so as to cause the turning of the particular legend device with which the lever moved, is associated.

Each legend device adjacent the rim portion thereof, is formed with an outwardly extending tlange 7a, upon which are formed depressions 7 b, these depressions being formed with intervening spaces so as to properly register the legends of the legend devices, as will be subsequently explained.

Coperating with each legend member is a spring 17, which is formed with a head portion that is adapted to enter the particular depression 7b upon a legend device which may be moved into contact with it. It will thus be seen that each legend device as it moves will have a spring 17 successively engage the depressions 7b formed therein. This prevents any overrunning of the legend devices, and causes them to remain in any position to which they may be moved.

The spring structure employed is more particularly illustrated in Fig. 5, and comprises a continuous strip 18, which is secured to the back of the casing in any desired manner. Extending upwardly froml the portion 18 are the spring fingers 17, which engage with the various legend devices.

In the rounding portion 4 of the casing there are formed a series of openings indicated at 19. These openings are so arranged that each opening will cooperate with one of the legend devices whereby a legend upon the legend device adjacent the opening will be exposed to view through the opening. Inasmuch as the curved portion 4 of the casing is curved to correspond with the curvature of the legend devices, each legend device as it is moved will always be in position to co-perate with its particular opening 19, and expose one of the legends which it may carry.

As any particular lever 11 is depressed by the handle portion 11a, which extends upon the outside of the casing, it will successively move this legend device so as to expose different legends through the opening 19 which coperates vwith the particular legend device moved.

In order to define the movement of a given legend device to produce in the opening 19 the desired legend, I provide upon the curved portion 5 of the casing and adjacent each slot therein, an index which will indicate the required movement of the lever 11 to produce the desired legend at the opening 19.

In the instance shown in the drawing, the alphabet is shown as the index, and as the handle 11aof one of the levers may be moved so as to index opposite any one of the letters of the alphabet, the corresponding letter of the alphabet will appear in the opening 19 which corresponds with the lever that has been moved.

It will be clear that by moving the various levers, words of any number of letters may be spelled. Furthermore, a series of words may be spelled so far as the number of openings 19 will permit. Obviously the number of openings 19 may be any number desired. y

After a number of the levers which operate the legend devices have been moved to spell a word or words, in order to obviate the necessity for moving the individual levers to their initial position, l have provided a means by which they may all be moved to their original position. This means comprises a frame 20, provided with side karms 21 and a lower member 22. rl`he side arms Q1 are loosely pivot-ed upon the shaft 6. The lower cross member 22 normally occupies a position at the lower part of the casing and is substantially that shown in F ig. 2. lt is therefore below the levers 11, and is in position to engage the levers 11 if the frame is moved upwardly. It will therefore be clear that when the levers 1l are depressed, and it is desired to return them to their initial position, the frame 20 may be moved as a whole, which will engage any and all of the depressed levers and move them to their initial and original position. Y

The frame 520 is moved by means of a knob or knobs Q3 which are secured to the side members 21 and extend through suitable slots formed in the ends of the casing. Such a slot is indicated at 2i in F ig. 3.

At 25 in Fig. l there is indicated a legend device 'which is of slightly diiierent character than that which has previously been explained, differing, however, only in the character of legend which it carries. Each levend which appears upon this legend device is adapted to assist a child in learning to spell. For instance, as shown in the drawing, the word Hat is opposite the opening in the casing which coperates with the legend device 25, and in connection with the word Hat there appears the illustration of a hat, so that a child recognizing the picture of the hat will know, if it knows the letters of the alphabet7 the proper spelling of the word Hat This particular legend device is, however, operated inthe saine manner as those previously described, and in all essential characteristics'of construction is the same.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. An educational device comprising a casing having an alined series 'of openings, a series of legend bearing devices within the casing, a shaft extending transversely through the casing upon which each of the said legend bearing devices is mountecheach legend bearing device comprising a member having a plurality of legends thereon which are adapted to be moved underneath the openings in the said casing, a plurality of levers pivoted within the casing, each one of said levers extending adjacent one of the legend devices, a rack and pinion vconnection between each lever and legend bearing device whereby as the lever is moved the legend bearing device is moved.

2. An educational device comprising a casing having an alined series of openings and a series of legend bearing devices within the casing, each legend bearing device being disposed so as to be vcapable of moving underneath an opening in the casing thereby to expose a legend; means for separately inoving the legend bearing devices; and means for engaging and` positively moving the legend bearing deviees'to initial position.

3. An educational device comprising a casing having an alined series of openings; a se 1ies of legend bearingV devices within the casing, each legend bearing device being disposed so as to be capable of moving underneath an opening in the casing thereby to expose a legend, a plurality of levers extending upon the outside of the casing, each of said levers being operatively connected with a legend device whereby each of the legend devices may be separately movedga pivoted member extending behind the said levers; and means for operating said pivoted member thereby to engage the said levers to return them to initial position.

4. An educational device comprisingacasing having an alined series of openings; a series of legend bearing devices within the casing; a shaft extending transversely of the casing upon which each of the said legend bearing devices is mounted, each legend bearing device comprising a member having n rounding surface upon which legends are carried; n pinion associated with each legend device; a rnek coperating With the pinion; and n plurality of levers pivotetl Within the casing and extending upon the outside thereof, each of said levers being operatively connected with a ruck adjacent euch legend, whereby when a lever is depressed the rack will operate upon the pinion to turn the legend device.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiix my signature. y

CHARLES HABART.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner o! Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

